Season 24, Episode 2 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 5–26 October 1987 | Writer: Stephen Wyatt | Director: Nicholas Mallett
Cast
- Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor
- Bonnie Langford as Mel Bush
- Richard Briers as the Chief Caretaker / Kroagnon
- Clive Merrison as the Deputy Chief Caretaker
- Judy Cornwell as Maddy
Summary
Hoping for a relaxing swim, the Doctor and Mel arrive at the once-magnificent Paradise Towers to find the residential complex fallen into squalid decay after its adult residents left for a war and never returned. Left behind, the tower is divided among gangs of feral teenage girls called Kangs, cannibalistic elderly Rezzies, and the officious but sinister robotic Caretakers, all unknowingly serving the malevolent will of Kroagnon, the building’s original architect, who has seized control from within its walls.
Interesting Facts
- The story is a satirical take on the decline of high-rise housing estates and municipal bureaucracy, reflecting social commentary common to writer Stephen Wyatt’s scripts.
- Richard Briers, best known for sitcom roles, gives a notably theatrical, increasingly unhinged performance as the Chief Caretaker possessed by Kroagnon.
- The story’s youth gang slang and internal factions were intended to evoke real-world urban tribalism translated into a science-fiction setting.
- This was one of several stories from the era criticized at the time for uneven production values, though it has since been reassessed more favorably by fans for its ideas and satire.
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